The Center of our Passion
by fanficwiz
Summary: This is a sequel to The Fiery Heart. Sydney is in re-education, but is then broken out by Adrian and the rest of the gang. Once out of re-education, Sydney is disguised as a moroi at the Royal Court. This summary kind of sucks, but it is hard to write it without giving too much away. So please give it a try!
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my version of a sequel to The Fiery Heart. It picks up where the last book ended. I really recommend that you read that book before reading this story. This fanfic will definitely spoil aspects of the actual novel for those of you haven't read it yet.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**Sydney's POV:**

I opened my eyes, and the world around me blurred. After a few minutes, the lifeless cell around me seemed to materialize. The room wasn't completely dark, but it was very dimly lit. The walls were tiled with gray pieces of stone, and the floor was made completely of concrete. How long have I been out for? The last thing I can remember was being drugged into a far from blissful sleep.

"Miss Sage," Said the voice. I gulped in anticipation. 'Be brave Sydney,' I repeated to myself. But I just can't bring myself to be brave. I am scared that I am going to be turned into a brainwashed robot like Keith had been. Maybe I have immunity to whatever compulsion spell is used during re-education, but what if I don't? Will I forget about all of the progress I have made with the tattoos? Will I forget how to cast all of the spells that I have only just began to learn? Most importantly, will I remember Adrian? Or even worse, what if I remember Adrian, but am brainwashed into thinking that he is evil again? I can't let that happen. There has to be a way out of here.

"Now that you have rested, we will give you another opportunity to confess to your sins. Are you hungry or thirsty? Cold perhaps? All you have to do is repeat the following words after me, and you will be provided with all the comfort you need. Now repeat, 'I have committed the inexcusable sin of betraying my own kind. I promise to myself, to the Alchemists, and most importantly to god that I will never commit such sins again.'"

My body began shaking. Simply repeating words after some unknown voice didn't seem like it should be that big of a deal. But I simply can't bring myself to utter such words. Isn't the oppression that the Alchemists are putting me through right now a far greater sin than anyone that I have ever committed?

"I have done nothing wrong." I responded stubbornly. My voice was weak and raspy.

"Have it your way Miss Sage. But don't say we didn't warn you."

The light in the room promptly flickered out, and a man entered my cell. I couldn't see where exactly he was, I could only hear his heavy footsteps coming my way. Judging by the time taken between strides and the amount of sound made by each footstep, I am judging that this man is at least six feet tall with a strong build. I have absolutely no hope of overtaking him.

But wait, what if I do have a way of escaping from this cell. I still have my magic, assuming that the drugs didn't stun my ability to perform spells. But the risk of performing a spell is too great. Even if I can escape from the holds of this one man, there will surely be hundreds more that I will need to get past before making it out of this building. I don't even know what building I'm in. If I didn't get out of the building, I would be punished even more severely for literally partaking in witchcraft. This whole thing is such a mess? How could I have let this happen?

I screamed out in pain as a needle suddenly stabbed into my skin. The moment the needle left my skin, I was left feeling woozy. The world spun around for a few moments, but soon came into a crystal clear focus. My senses were on overdrive. I could feel every piece of dirt in the floor, and hear every drop of water that creaked in the sink. I could hear every breath that my prisoner took.

"Confess to your sins."

I gave the man a confused glance. I hadn't committed any sins. How could I confess to committing them?

The man slapped me across the face, hard. When I said my senses were in overdrive before, I really meant it. The slap hurt more than it ever should have. What did the alchemists ingest me with?

"Repeat after me. 'I have sinned against my own kind and let my soul become corrupted. I am ready to have the darkness purged.'" Urged the man.

"I have sinned against my own kind and let my soul become corrupted. I am ready to have the darkness purged." I repeated automatically. Wait, what? The words just stumbled out of me. But, they held an eerie truth in them. I had sinned. I had gone against the very people who had raised me.

"Now wasn't that easy?" Questioned the man. I quickly nodded in response. That was easy.

"From this point forward, you will confess to all your sins openly. You will allow us to purge the darkness from you. You will work towards becoming a good Alchemist once more."

I nodded my head as my eyes began to glaze over. The man left, and I found myself falling into a deep sleep.

Slowly, my mind began reeling, and I found myself sitting in the back of The Ivashkinator. Wait, does that mean Adrian is here?

Not a moment later, Adrian appeared in the seat beside me. His green eyes shone with joy as he took me in. His beautiful brown hair was just as tussled as always, but the look suited him. I couldn't imagine his hair looking any different. He was even wearing the green shirt that brings out the colour of his eyes. God, he is so beautiful. Wait, what am I thinking? Adrian is a moroi. These thoughts, they are sinful! But how can I resist this beautiful creature. Adrian is not a monster, he is my loving boyfriend. We made love nearly countless times. But pre-marital sex with a moroi? How could I do such a thing?

"Sydney. Where are you?" He commanded. His eyes were filled with love, but he was getting straight down to business."

"I don't know." I replied. In the dream, my voice was beautiful and clear.

"Come on Sage; just give me something to work with. Are you in re-education?" Said Adrian pleadingly.

"Yes." I replied. "I am guessing that I am in the basement of Alchemist headquarters. But honestly, I'm not sure. I could be anywhere."

"Be strong Sydney. You can make it through this." Sighed Adrian as he pulled me in for a kiss.

My lips automatically responded, but then I pushed him away. Being intimate with a moroi is unacceptable.

His eyes glance at me questioningly, and with a sense of longing. "Stay strong. The center will hold. And not just between us. The center in you will always hold. Just remember that you will always be you. Can you remember that for me Sydney?" He said earnestly as he gazed into my eyes with an intensity that I had never seen from him before. "You will not forget who you are, and what is important to you."

That sounded like a reasonable suggestion. How could I forget who I am? How could I forget about my love for Adrian? But what about him being Moroi? That doesn't matter! Wait, yes it does!

"Sydney, you are under a compulsion spell of some sort. Remember that. These thoughts of yours don't belong to you." He told me, again maintaining that fierce eye contact.

"Of course they don't." I replied to him. "Only my thoughts belong to me."

"Good. I will see you later Sage." Sighed Adrian as he gave me one last kiss before the dream evaporated.

Sometime later, I began stirring and woke up. My head was pounding. I moaned in pain.

"Now that you have confessed that you have done wrong, we must right what you have done wrong. You will start by repenting for becoming intimate with an evil creature of the night." Demanded the voice. I had once felt smug about telling my father that I had allowed a moroi to do everything to me. But now I am beginning to realize how stupid it was of me to have said that.

But I love Adrian. And Adrian told me not to forget who I am, and who I care about. But the words of repentance feel like they are going to pour out of my mouth at any moment. I can't do this! My head began pounding even more. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but words would not come out. I slumped onto the ground as the world around me faded.

Again, I slowly woke up to the coldness of this prison. Why does the floor have to be so freaking cold?

Out in the distance I could hear voices.

"Why isn't she being responsive? We just shot her a week ago with the strongest compulsion charm that we have. It is as if she is in a state of a mental breakdown." Said a female.

"I don't know! She was very responsive to the charm when it was administered. But the effect seems to have diminished. She has not yet denied committing sins since the implementation of the charm, but she hasn't purged any darkness out of her soul either." Replied the man frantically. "How are we to keep control over her if the compulsion doesn't work?"

"Relax Mr. Tyler! You are being overdramatic. We must first administer another dose of the compulsion spell before worrying. Maybe the first charm was defective or weak." Said the woman in an annoyed tone.

"Of course mam, right away mam." Said the man, Mr. Tyler I suppose it must have been.

And then the reality of the situation hit me. They are going to compel me again. They are going to compel me until I turn into a brain dead robot. I can't let that happen. But what can I do to stop it?

* * *

**Rose's POV**

I was trembling with anticipation. Sure, I had successfully broken Victor Dashkov out of Tarasov prison already. But the stakes are just as high if we fail today. If the Alchemists somehow find out that we had anything to do with breaking Sydney out of her confinement, then we may as well prepare for a full out war.

Adrian, Sonya, and Eddie and I had gone over the plan a million times, but I was still having second thoughts about it. We really don't know anything about what exactly we are going to have to face inside of this building.

Through the use of compulsion, Adrian had discovered the location of the Alchemist re-education center. It turns out that it is located in their main offices, about three floors underground.

Just like when we broke into Tarasov, the plan is to go in and out without being detected as a threat. Lissa had tried to urge the four of us out of going after Sydney, saying that it was far too big of a risk. But in the end, I convinced Lissa that it was our duty to save Sydney. Sydney has had my back so many times, I owe her at least this much. Adrian was also dead set on saving Sydney. Somehow the two of them must have formed some sort of a deep friendship. It was clear to anyone that Adrian truly cared about Sydney. He had stopped taking his pills just so he could use his spirit to help her.

"Come on Rose. It's now or never." Said Eddie confidently. I also felt obligated to help out on this rescue mission in order to return Eddie's favour for helping me break Victor out of Tarasov. Eddie didn't appear to be as close with Sydney as Adrian did, but he did seem to care for her as well, and he also felt guilty about losing Sydney while she was technically on his watch.

"It's time to put on your charms." Said Sonya. This was the first step of our plan. We had kidnapped four alchemists who worked various positions within the organization, and compelled them into a deep and indefinitely long sleep. Yes, our plan is extremely immoral, but brainwashing Sydney is as well. Once the alchemists were put to sleep, Sonya and Lissa made charms that would make us appear almost exactly like the alchemists that we had taken. This way, we would have easy access into the building itself.

We quickly checked our surroundings to make sure that no one was near, and then slipped on our charmed rings. To one another, we still looked the same as we had before since we knew that the charm was in place. But to people who wouldn't be expecting a charm, we would hopefully appear identically to the alchemists.

We walked into the building slowly, and as casually as could be. We all headed towards the elevators and were surprised to see that we could easily make it down to basement level three without much hassle. The elevator doors creaked open and the four of us stepped out. This was where the plan got a little tricky. Once we got to the re-education center check in area, (yes, they are so freaking organized that they have a check in for this department), Eddie knocked on the door.

An annoyed looking woman opened the door.

"What?" She snapped. "You have no business being down here Theodore."

Eddie gulped, as did the rest of us. The fact that the woman recognized Eddie was a bit of luck on her part. Yes, many of the alchemists know one other, but we had at least been hoping that none of the four of us would be recognized.

"I have official orders to conduct an inspection on your unit." Said Eddie in a professional and stern voice. We are going to be really screwed if this woman recognizes Eddie's voice as being different from Theodore's.

Thankfully, this lady must not have much of a relation to Theodore, because she pushed the door open for the four of us to walk in.

"None of you are regular inspectors." She mumbled. "I will have to check up on this situation before allowing you in."

"Look, we have an official document right here." Said Eddie quickly, pulling out a document that Mikhail had somehow been able to attain. Mikhail had done an excellent job of wording the document, as well as forging the signature on the bottom of it.

The lady eyed the document for a moment, and eventually decided that it was safe to allow us in. In truth, we could have compelled her, but it is best if we can save the spirit user's energy for times where it is more necessary. If anything goes wrong, we are going to need to use a fuck load of compulsion.

"What are you checking up on?" Asked the lady.

"Can't say, it's confidential." Said Eddie. The lady nodded, acknowledging that security matters are rightly kept secret.

The lady had now stepped aside, and the four of us were allowed into the depths of the extensive center. The area seemed to be comprised of one very long and narrow hallway with identical looking white doors branching off of it. How we are going to figure out which room is Sydney's is still a mystery to me. Our best bet at this point is to guess and check the first few rooms, and hopefully find a couple of security cameras along the way that will give us a better view of the building as a whole. We will eventually need to destroy the building's surveillance system. At this point, our plan is to compel a couple of security members into destroying the system. But first we need to find an alchemist who works at the security offices.

We spent the next five minutes quickly knocking from door to door, coming up with different bull-shit reasons for checking in on the various offices. The reasons were believable enough, but the alchemists still looked extremely pissed when we bothered them. What a bunch of hard asses. Shouldn't they be treating their supposed co-workers with a bit more respect?

The next door that we knocked on just happened to be the right one. The alchemist opened the door, giving us a full view of the room inside. There were about ten video screens on, all viewing individual alchemists who were locked up in nasty looking cells. The cells looked even more disgusting than the one that I had been held in back at the royal court. And then I saw Sydney in one of the screens. She looked atrocious. She was lying down, flat on her back on a dirty looking concrete floor. Her normally flowing and sleek blond hair contained streaks of brown dirt and stuck to the top of her head as if it were all one big knot.

Adrian must have caught sight of what I was looking at because he suddenly stepped up.

"You will take us to Sydney's cell." Growled Adrian, drowning the alchemist in his will.

"Of course." Said the man, completely dazed from the vast amount of spirit that Adrian was using.

"Are you capable of destroying the alchemist security base? As in, can you deactivate every security camera in this building?" Demanded Adrian.

The alchemist looked confused. He must have been a bit more stronger willed than I had thought at first. But he soon answered.

"Yes, I can do that."

"Good. Destroy every tiny piece of evidence that could even suggest the presence of the four of us here. Don't rest until all is destroyed. Once you have successfully dismantled the security system, you will forget that you ever saw us here." Demanded Adrian again, using probably double the amount of spirit than what was required of him.

But before going off to destroy the security system, the alchemist took us to Sydney's cell just as Adrian had "asked" him to.

"Now go get your job done as quickly as possible." Growled Adrian. The alchemist took off sprinting. The sight would have been nearly comical under any other circumstance.

The moment that the alchemist bolted off, we rushed towards Sydney who was still fast asleep.

"Sydney, wake up, it's me," Pleaded Adrian as he shook her. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, yet she didn't appear to be truly conscience.

As she slowly began to become more aware of her surroundings, she looked at us with her eyes full of confusion.

"Syd, I know it doesn't look like me. But I swear it is, this appearance is just a charm." Said Adrian.

Sydney smiled. The charm must have broken since Sydney was now aware that one had been in place.

"Come with us quickly. We are going to get you out of this hell hole." Said Adrian.

"I can't," Said Syndey. "I really want to, but I promised I would never betray my kind again."

"Shit," Muttered Adrian. "Sydney, I am really sorry about this, but I am asking you to leave and to follow our every order until the moment we get back to court." Adrian's eyes stared into Sydney's and I realized he was compelling her to come with us. What the hell? I can't imagine why Sydney would want to stay here, but it is her choice after all.

My thoughts were cut short when a man came running towards us.

"What the hell are you doing down here? And where is Darius?" He demanded.

"Leave and forget that you have seen us. If possible, go destroy the building's overall security system as well." Said Sonya immediately, compelling the man into oblivion.

"We have to get moving quickly!" I exclaimed. Sydney jumped right up the moment I said this, her eyes still glazed over from being compelled. Sonya handed Sydney a charmed ring to disguise her appearance, and the five of us ran towards the elevator. We got in, and went up to the main floor without any further issues.

But when we got upstairs, the world around us was utter chaos.

"How could this have happened!" Exclaimed a woman.

"Our security has never been breached before!" Yelled another man.

Our subjects must have successfully destroyed the alchemist's security system. Thank god, even in our charmed appearances we can't take the risk of somehow being caught on security footage.

But now we have to get out of the building. If my instincts are correct, I would guess that the building is on lockdown at the moment. Dammit, I just don't know anything about this place. What kind of guardian am I, going into a building without knowing where all of the exits are? I groaned in frustration. But then I remembered that Sydney was with us.

"Sydney, if the building is on lockdown, where do you think we can exit from?" I asked urgently.

She pondered this for a moment. "If we go down towards the church, I am guessing we will be able to get out through their emergency exit door. I'm not sure about it, but I just have a feeling that the church isn't going to be guarded nearly as heavily as the other areas are."

We set out on a brisk walk towards the church and gave out sighs of relief when we found that the church was basically deserted. We hurried out the emergency exit, and then realized that we had set off a security alarm for having used this particular door.

"We have to make a run for it. Get to the car as quickly as you all can!" I demanded.

In reality, Eddie and I weren't going to get to the car as quickly as we could. Naturally, we had to slow down a bit for the moroi, and for Sydney in particular. She was in terrible shape. At that moment, Eddie scooped Sydney up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way back.

We made it to the car, and I turned my head to see a swarm of alchemists sprinting towards us. Eddie noticed the same thing and stepped on the gas pedal. Our car screeched away.

"Let's get on the main highway and put some distance between ourselves and this place. But we can only stay on for a few minutes. Afterwards, we should turn off and take a bit of a detour down to another highway to make the rest of the trip."

Eddie nodded in response, and we all waited as patiently as we could for the constant fear of being caught to disappear. Once we had made it onto the second highway, I felt confident that we had lost them.

"Rose, the alchemists are extremely resourceful. They may not know where we are at the moment, but they will definitely be able to track down your car. We need to ditch this car and get another one."

Shit, why didn't I think of that? Sydney made it sound like the most obvious reasoning in the world. Dimitri would have said exactly the same as she just did. Oh Dimitri, I can't wait to tell him all about this. The only reason that he didn't help break Sydney out of re-education was that I needed someone reliable to stay back and protect Lissa and Christian. And it made most sense for me and Eddie to go on this mission since we both knew Sydney personally.

Ten minutes later, we ditched our car and jogged a few blocks to the nearest car rental company. We were still wearing our disguising charms, and after a bit of deliberation, decided to remove them. Well, all of us aside from Sydney removed them. She merely replaced hers with another charm that made her look like a normal human. It was definitely a risk for the rest of us to expose our identities, but it would also be a lot harder for the alchemists to track us if they don't even know who to look for. It would have simply taken too much spirit to have made more charms for all of us. A group of five people with identical tattoos would definitely be a hint off that we had been here.

We rented a cheap black car with just barely enough space for all five of us before rushing off.

"Are we going to need to ditch this car as well?" Asked Eddie. "Just to be safe."

"I'm not sure," I replied. "Sydney, what do you think?"

"Normally I would say that we are safe in this car, but after getting caught after being so confident that I had been being discreet… maybe we should be safe."

After driving for another two hours we ditched this car on the side of the road and rented another small and boring car. There would be a hell of a lot of money for the court to pay on this rescue mission. It's a good thing that we have Mikhail on our side to ensure that the money spent on this goes unnoticed. Damn, this is feeling like a political fraud. I can't risk Lissa's reputation like this. Speaking of Lissa, I still can't get used of being rid of the bond. Sure, it's great that I don't have to deal with all of the darkness anymore and that I don't have to watch Lissa's intimate moments with Christian, but it also feels like a part of me has been ripped away.

But then there is Dimitri, who fills every sense of emptiness I could ever have. I still don't know how we managed to beat all of the odds and have our happy ending. I can't wait to get back to court tomorrow so that I can fall back into his loving arms.

I hope that Adrian finds a deep connection with another one day. I want him to be happy, and I still feel guilty for the way I treated him. All he had ever been was a caring and loyal boyfriend, and I cheated on him. He claims that all is forgiven, but does he really mean it?

I was broken from my thoughts when Eddie pulled up to a hotel. "We will be staying here for the night."

The moment Eddie uttered the words, Sydney snapped out of her trance. The compulsion must have worn off.

"Where are we?" She demanded.

"South Dakota," Replied Sonya.

"But, I can't be with all of you. You are all twisted and unnatural creatures!" She exclaimed.

"But Sydney, you can't forget yourself. You can't forget who you were before all of this madness began."

Her eyes slowly lit up as she gazed at Adrian. "I remember who I am. I –" Her words were cut off. She tried moving towards us, but found that she couldn't. She stood frozen on the spot before passing out.

"Sydney!" Exclaimed Adrian. "I can heal her, just give me a moment."

"No," Said Sonya stepping in. "You have used too much spirit today. Let me help her."

Sonya rested her hands on Sydney's shoulders, and I watched as the world seemed to light up around us.

"I'm sorry, it's just, there is nothing to heal exactly. Yet, there is this strange aura coming off of her blood. It is so filled with, magic or something. I have never seen anything like it. And then, there are also faint traces of moroi blood."

"Oh, I can partially explain that." Said Adrian. And then Adrian launched into one of the most bizarre and shocking stories I had ever heard. And I purposely do say story, because this tale of Sydney being a witch could not possibly be true, right?

"It's true Rose, I have seen her create fireballs out of thin air before." Said Eddie. "Now that you know about her magic, I suppose that you should also know that she had been making an ink that would be able break the compulsion powers in the alchemist tattoo. Sometimes, there are high enough amounts of compulsion in those tattoos to nearly control the subject."

"Did she ever administer herself with this ink?" I asked, still disbelieving of everything. A human magic user? This simply could not be possible. But maybe I shouldn't be so close-minded. Everyone once said that spirit users were impossibilities. Everyone once said that restoring strigoi back to life and creating a sort of strigoi vaccination would be impossible. Maybe this is the truth.

"No, but we kind of figured that the magic that was already contained in her blood would protect her from ever being re-compelled by the alchemists. Although, seeing the state that she is in right now makes me re-think that assumption." Said Eddie.

"She must have been given some sort of compulsion serum. My prediction is that the compulsion will quickly make its way out of her system. The magic in her blood will protect her. She must be in some sort of internal crisis at the moment though. The compulsion is probably affecting her now because her body has not yet had the opportunity to process it." Said Sonya, looking pointedly at Adrian. "She has direct orders that we are evil creatures of the night who are to be loathed, but she also has direct orders to remember who she used to be, and to happily live with us. I am guessing that is why she froze up, for she couldn't do anything without contradicting compelling orders."

"I suppose that's a good thing, so long as she isn't in any danger." Said Eddie eventually after a time of silence.

"I don't think this will have any long lasting impacts." Confirmed Sonya.

"Thank god," Moaned Adrian. "We should take her upstairs, and hopefully she will be able to sleep soundly. Well, soundly with a visit from me at least." Grinned Adrian. Now that I think about it, this is the first time he has smiled since the day he came back to court, begging me to help him get Sydney out of captivity.

"We can't leave you two alone." Said Eddie and I simultaneously.

The two of us spent the next few minutes working out a guarding plan. We decided it would be simplest for Sonya, Sydney and I to share a hotel room, and for Eddie and Adrian to share one as well. If we are lucky, we will be able to get two adjoining rooms.

After getting checked in, we all headed up to our hotel rooms. I crashed almost immediately when Eddie told me he would keep watch. Thankfully we had gotten adjoining rooms in the end. I quickly felt my body falling into a state of deep relaxation.

* * *

**Please review. It took quite a bit of time to write this chapter, so some feedback would really be awesome and so appreciated. Reviews keep me motivated to keep writing. **

**Should I keep going with this story? How are you all liking it so far?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all so much for the great reviews on the first chapter! They really encouraged me to continue this story. Keep on reviewing if you want me to continue! **

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**Sydney's POV:**

"And the beauty awakes," Sighed Adrian softly.

I slowly opened my eyes, and groaned in pain. Why does my head hurt so much? And wait, what am I doing here?

I squinted up into Adrian's green eyes as I slowly adjusted to the brightness of the room.

"Can you close the blinds or something? It's too bright in here! My head hurts." I groaned.

Adrian got up quickly and complied with my wishes.

"Sage, with your temporary resentment of the sun and headache, you are reminding me of a hung-over moroi. You sound like you feel exactly the same way as I do after a couple shots too many." chuckled Adrian.

I lightly hit him in the arm, expressing my annoyance of this whole situation. I can vaguely remember escaping with Adrian, understanding that following his every order was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. But everything that happened just feels like it was a dream now. Could that have really been reality? I do sound like I am hung over. I just hate having so little control over everything.

"I want you to tell me everything that has happened recently. And don't leave out a single detail." I told Adrian.

"Are you sure you're ready for that Sage? I think we should get you some breakfast, and maybe even a cup of coffee before anything else."

I couldn't help but jump at the prospect of caffeine. One cup of coffee a day had been hell. Zero cups of coffee a day had been simply unbearable.

"Come on, there is a café downstairs." said Adrian.

"Where are we?" I asked, feeling ridiculous that I couldn't remember.

Adrian opened his mouth to reply, but quickly reconsidered. "You're observant. Figure out where we are. Just think of it as a puzzle."

I wanted to know where we were really badly, but I couldn't turn down the prospect of trying to figure this out on my own. When else am I going to find myself in as weird of a situation as this?

Just as the two of us were about to open the door, Rose appeared out of nowhere.

"You can't really think that I am going to let you two go down there alone," Said Rose.

Adrian groaned. "Rose, it's daylight. In Palm Springs we went out together alone all the time."

Rose pathetically tried to arch her eyebrow in response but failed miserably. I couldn't help but giggle. Rose sent me a death glare which shut me up pretty quickly. Rose can be quite terrifying.

Adrian had definitely slipped up in his wording, but would it really be so bad to tell Rose about Adrian and I? I trust her not to tell anyone, but more than that, it would nice to have somebody to talk to about everything. Not only is Rose someone who I would consider being nearly a friend of mine, but she also went through all of the hardships of being in a forbidden relationship.

"Adrian, maybe we should…." I trailed off, looking Adrian in the eye, hoping he would get the message. He looked pretty shocked that I would suggest such a thing.

"Please," I begged. For whatever reason, I had this overwhelming urge to tell Rose about Adrian and I.

Wait, we were just reunited with one another, why haven't I attacked him with kisses yet? Once the thought of being with Adrian came back into my mind, there was no stopping the flow of images that were sweeping through my imagination. It was as if I had just surpassed some sort of mental barrier.

"I guess we can," Replied Adrian. "Are you sure about this? If she knows, Lissa will probably find out shortly. And if Lissa knows then Christian will also know."

"What the hell you guys?" demanded Rose. She clearly hated being out of the loop.

I walked up a bit closer to Adrian and nodded my head.

"Rose, Adrian and I are… you know." I said awkwardly.

Rose burst into laughter. Why is she laughing at us? Is she laughing at Adrian's ridiculous choice for a girlfriend?

When Rose finally composed herself, she spoke up. "Normally, I would not know what you meant by 'you know.' Sydney, don't be ashamed to admit that you're dating Ivashkov. I dated that monster once." Adrian sent her a look of mock anger. I chuckled. "But anyways, I kind of figured there was a little something between the two of you judging by Adrian's actions last night. When I woke up this morning, it was clear to me that Adrian had feelings for you. Adrian's comment before confirmed my suspicions. I can't wait to tell Dimitri about this! He will be so happy for you two! Wait, it's alright if I tell Dimitri right?"

"I suppose it won't hurt if the Russian-Jailor finds out about us." said Adrian.

"So, you're ok with all of this?" I asked Rose, still shocked by how lightly she was taking everything. Most people wouldn't be able to get past the taboo of me being with Adrian. But Rose is far from being like most people.

"Of course I am." said Rose reassuringly. It made me feel a lot more secure, knowing that we at least had Rose's approval. "When I realized that Adrian had feelings for you, by impulse I thought that he was crazy." She admitted. "But quickly, I got over that. I got to thinking, and I really don't know why relationships between moroi and humans are so taboo. Basically, I am happy if you two are happy."

I grinned as Adrian grabbed my hand, but I automatically pushed his hand away. Wait, why did I do that?

Adrian looked at me with a confused glance. I held out my hand for him to take it, but the moment we made contact I pushed him away again.

"Adrian, I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening." I told him, nearly shaking. It was as if I lacked control over my own body.

"Freaking compulsion," muttered Adrian.

"Compulsion?" I asked, feeling horrified.

"Yes, I guess I can explain a bit to you about what happened now, but you have to promise not to be mad at me." said Adrian.

"I will do my best to not get made Adrian." I told him. I hate it when people make empty promises. Maybe I have a right to be mad at him if he is worried about whatever it is he is going to tell me.

Adrian sighed. "To start, you should know that the alchemists appear to re-educate their workers by using shit loads of compulsion. Our assumption is that they have a compulsion serum that is much more powerful than we thought it had been before. Despite your magic use, their compulsion serum was able to work on you. However, we think that the magic will heal the compulsion out of you, whereas in others, we believe that the compulsion that is administered during re-education will have long-lasting, if not permanent effects. Sydney, after seeing the kind of torture that you went through, I can understand more now than ever before how important it is for you to distribute your anti-compulsion tattoo ink."

Honestly, I wasn't surprised in the least bit. I already knew that the Alchemists used compulsion serums all the time. To know that I had been compelled so heavily though, I can't even begin to comprehend what state of mind I had been in during re-education. Everything is just a foggy haze now.

"Ok, but why would I be mad at you Adrian?" I asked.

"Sydney, I used compulsion on you while you were in there. For good though, not for bad!" Exclaimed Adrian quickly. That bastard compelled me?

"I'm sorry Sydney, I know I promised that I would never use it on you, but it was necessary, just let me explain." said Adrian pleadingly.

"Talk away," I said, feeling extremely betrayed.

"I compelled you twice. The first time was when I dream walked you. I compelled you into never forgetting who you are. I didn't even know before then that it was possible to compel while dream walking. The second time I compelled you was when we broke you out of re-education. You wouldn't leave with us Sydney. They had you completely brainwashed. The only way we could have gotten you out of there was to compel you into leaving. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok Adrian," I said instinctively. What is happening to me? Since when do I ever approve of using compulsion? But I can't help but feel thankful. If it weren't for Adrian's compulsion, I don't know if I would be free at the moment.

Adrian leaned in to hug me, but I again backed away upon contact.

"Sorry," I sighed. It's just some physical reflex that I can't control.

"It's fine," said Adrian. "When we get back to the moroi court, we will administer you with your tattoo breaking ink to remove the last traces of compulsion that remain within your system. I'm just happy that you are basically you again. I can't even describe how worried I was about you when you were in re-education. I was sure I was going to lose you. But then Rose saved the day, just as she always does. I knew that your breaking and entering skills would come in handy someday Little Dhampir." joked Adrian.

Rose was about to retort, but I jumped in. "The moroi court? Why are we going there?" I exclaimed. "Everyone will know that I am an alchemist and I will be caught almost instantaneously."

"Relax Sydney, it's all planned out." said Rose. "Lissa is working on a charm that will disguise you as a moroi. You obviously don't have to come back to court with us, but we figured it would be ideal if you could since Adrian, Jill and the rest of the gang will be at court. Also, Sonya is still researching more into the strigoi vaccination, and we all thought that you would be a great asset to her studies."

Being disguised as a moroi does not appeal to me even in the slightest. But what other options do I have? At least if I am under a charm, I won't have to constantly worry about being caught like Marcus does. I will be able to go to sleep each night in Adrian's strong arms instead of sleeping in cheap motels every night. Staying at court does seem like the reasonable idea. Researching with Sonya particularly appeals to me. I bet that she could also help me research more into the anti-tattoo ink that I have been developing. I simply cannot help but want to learn more, and researching with Sonya may provide me with so many opportunities. Besides, I can always leave and join Marcus if I hate it there.

"Oh ok, that sounds good actually. I would love to work with Sonya." I replied.

"Great!" exclaimed Rose. "Now let's go get some breakfast. I am starving. Put on this ring first though Sydney. We don't want anyone recognizing you."

I slipped on the ring, and the three of us headed down for breakfast while Eddie waited upstairs with Sonya who was still sleeping.

When we got downstairs, we found a very small, yet elegant café that had a massive line. The café was called 'The Fargo Café.' I guess we are in South Dakota. I grinned at Adrian, showing him that his little game hadn't turned out very well. Looking at the long line, Rose and I both automatically turned towards Adrian with pleading eyes.

"Fine, I will wait in line," muttered Adrian. "What do you two want?"

After giving Adrian our orders, Rose and I sat down at a table. I could almost taste my extra-large coffee already.

"So you and Ivashkov," said Rose. "I never thought I would see the day. But I'm happy anyways. How did you two get together anyways?"

I told Rose about everything, how I had initially freaked out when Adrian admitted his feelings for me, but how it had all worked out in the end.

"It's good that you admitted your feelings to him and that you are trying to have a relationship. Dimitri and I tried to ignore our feelings for one another which didn't work out well. You can't ignore or forget love."

I nodded in agreement. "Everything would just be a lot simpler if I could." I replied.

"But do you really want what is simpler? Or do you want what is best?" Asked Rose.

"Since when did you get so wise Rose? I swear you could be my personal therapist or something!" I exclaimed.

Rose laughed. "All of my therapists must have rubbed off on me. Everyone thought I was crazy back then."

"You still are crazy." I joked.

Rose smiled and didn't even try to deny it. She is crazy, but in a good way.

"I just find you two so weird because your relationship seems so similar to how mine used to be with Dimitri." said Rose suddenly.

"In what ways?" I asked curiously.

"Adrian is just like I was. He is the more reckless of the two of you. He acts more impulsively. But you are just like Dimitri. You were more hesitant about everything since you fully understood the implications of being with Adrian. But then after a few stolen kisses, you broke down and gave in to your true feelings." Rose seemed quite surprised by here realization.

"I can only hope that Adrian and I are like you and Dimitri. I mean, you two are like the perfect couple now." I gushed, surging with jealousy over what Rose had with Dimitri.

"Just remember how much work it took to get where we are now." said Rose.

I felt guilty then, recalling the emotional pain that Rose had gone through when Dimitri had been strigoi, and how Dimitri had rejected Rose initially after being restored. I just hope that I never have to go through that kind of pain with Adrian. If he left me, I don't know how I would live with myself. I was building more and more respect for Rose's strength and courage.

"I don't care how much work it takes." I told Rose confidently.

Adrian brought us our food a couple minutes later. I practically ripped the coffee out of his hand, and took a long and deep sip, sighing in contentment as the warm liquid dribbled down my throat.

"Take it easy there Syd, remember that this is your first and last cup of the day." Said Adrian.

"I didn't forget," I grumbled. "How have you been doing with your one drink a day?" I asked.

He looked down guiltily. "Adrian," I pressed.

Wait, wasn't Adrian supposed to be on anti-depressants? But he was using spirit if he dream walked and compelled me. Oh no.

"You came off your pills!" I exclaimed, feeling stupid that I hadn't come to this realization earlier.

Adrian nodded. "I had no choice Sydney. I needed access to my spirit in order to help you."

"Adrian, you shouldn't have done that. How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Perfect since you're here." smiled Adrian.

"Are you going to go back onto the pills?" I asked.

"I'm not sure Sage. I felt so hopeless and so useless when you were taken. I need my spirit to help protect you."

"You need to protect yourself!" I cried.

"I will think about it." said Adrian, effectively ending the conversation.

I would have expected breakfast to have been awkward after that, but Rose stepped in and drove the conversation in a different direction.

"I got a text from Lissa this morning, and she said the new family law vote will take place tomorrow evening. Jill is currently being disguised at court as a different moroi as well, and will hopefully be able to live a normal life after the vote." said Rose.

"I'm glad that Lissa is abolishing the quorum. That law is really stupid anyways," said Adrian. "Although Lissa will probably get pregnant soon enough anyways. Then there will be more than enough Little Dragomirs."

Rose punched Adrian's arm and glared at him. "She's only 18, was just crowned queen of the moroi, and is going to Lehigh University! Do you actually think she is ready to have a baby?" exclaimed Rose.

"I don't think she is ready," Said Adrian. "But I don't think that is going to stop her."

Rose slugged Adrian again and I couldn't help but laugh at how defenseless Adrian looked.

"Getting back to the point," began Rose. "Assuming that the quorum is abolished, Jill will be given the option of returning to St. Vladimir's, which I assume she will be interested in doing. Adrian, that means that you two may be separated if you don't go to St. Vladimir's. Sonya is quite worried about the ramifications of you being apart from Jill for long."

"Yeah, that could be a problem." said Adrian. "Especially considering I was planning on signing up for an art course at Lehigh."

"You were?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Adrian sheepishly. "It wouldn't make sense to go back to the class that I had been signed up for since Palm Springs is now too far away from everything. But I do want to continue classes still."

"That's great!" I told Adrian. It is really important for Adrian to continue doing things for himself that he is interested in.

He shrugged in response. "It's good that Jill will be back at St. Vladimir's. Hopefully she will be able to make normal friends, and be able to have regular relationships." said Adrian randomly.

"What happened to Angeline?" I asked.

"She is at court with Jill but isn't disguised since no one knows who she is anyways. She is trying to get into St. Vladimir's but Kirova is being a bitch, saying that Angeline is too far behind too sign up now." Said Rose.

"Why doesn't she get a mentor like you did?" I asked.

Rose laughed. "I was ridiculously lucky to have gotten Dimitri as a mentor. I can't imagine who else would have put so much time and effort into helping me. I may just get Lissa to force Kirova into letting Angeline in, although Lissa really doesn't like using her influence in that way."

"Maybe Dimitri knows some of the guardians and can convince them to work with Angeline," I suggested.

"Dimitri knows everyone," said Rose. "But he isn't particularly close with any of them. Although, maybe Alberta would help. I can get Dimitri to ask Alberta if she can mentor Angeline."

"That would be great," I replied. I really do feel as if we all became a family out in Palm Springs, so I feel quite protective of everyone who was out there. Well, everyone aside from the only person who was actually a family member. I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive Zoe for betraying me. I don't even know if I will ever be able to see her again.

"And Neil is now the permanent guardian of Nina Sinclair, the girl who restored her sister recently." Supplied Adrian.

"Good, he clearly had feelings for that girl." I said. "Wait, what's going to happen to Eddie?" I asked.

"We're not sure yet," said Rose. "If Jill goes to St. Vladimir's, then Eddie may apply for a position as a school guardian. If he does become a guardian there, then I am sure he would mentor Angeline actually."

"That would be perfect." I said, surprised that so many things were falling into place.

"But Angeline is heartbroken over Trey still," said Adrian.

"She would have had to of stayed in Palm Springs to have kept the relationship with him going." said Adrian. "But she has no legal guardian or anything out there. The only options for her were to return to court or to go back to the keepers."

"That really sucks. I hope Angeline can get over everything," I said. "I might actually miss Palm Springs. Oh shit, Mrs. Terwillinger! I'm not going to be able to be a part of her coven anymore!" I exclaimed.

Adrian almost fell over, shocked that I had sworn, and Rose nearly spit out her drink after beginning to laugh.

"I never thought I would hear anyone talking about being in a coven seriously!" Exclaimed Rose who was still laughing. "I especially wouldn't expect to hear it from you of all people. And then just hearing the two of you talking about everyone else's romantic lives is also really funny. No wonder everyone was so upset when you were taken to re-education. You guys had all grown so close to one another!"

"We did all grow really close. I hope we can all see each other again now that we are all off living our own lives though," I said.

"All it takes is a special event to bring people together," said Rose. "And Lissa's birthday is coming up soon. I can just ask Lissa to invite everyone to her party."

I brightened at the suggestion. "That would be awesome Rose! But do you really think the moroi queen would invite Angeline to what I assume is going to be a formal party?"

Rose chuckled. "Yeah, Lissa will invite her. She will say, 'The more the merrier!' in a ridiculously chirpy tone."

Adrian laughed at that. "Lissa would definitely say that." He agreed.

Then, a thought came to me that hadn't occurred to me before. I am really free to do what I want. With my disguise, I am basically being granted a new beginning. And there is one thing that I have always wanted to do.

"Rose, do you think I could go to Lehigh University as well. I would still work with Sonya in my free time and-" Rose cut me off.

"I don't see why not. I assume Lissa will let you do whatever you want."

I couldn't hide the smile that filled my face. Adrian smiled at me as well, understanding how much this really meant to me. I have to get online as soon as possible to see what kinds of courses Lehigh has to offer. I want to take everything!

Life looks like it is oddly going to start shaping up. Maybe I should have run away from the alchemists a long time ago.

* * *

**How did you guys like it? I tried to give you all a good idea of what the rest of the story is roughly going to look like. **

**Who's POV should the next chapter be written in? **


	3. Chapter 3

**So I got some reviews on the last chapter I posted, but not nearly as many as I did on the first. Did you not like the direction I took the story in? Please comment your thoughts, because I am always happy to edit scenes if they weren't any good.**

**By the way, I am also writing some VA fanfics, so you guys should check those stories out as well :). **

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Christian's POV:**

Why does nobody ever tell me anything? I swear I was the last one to hear about the strigoi vaccination, and now, Lissa is only just bothering to tell me that Rose and Adrian are off breaking Sydney out of Alchemist Headquarters! Sure, I have been busy with all of my offensive magic initiatives, but I always have time to be updated on what is happening!

"The good news is that they were successful!" Continued Lissa. Her blond hair was pulled up into a perfect bun, and her facial features were highlighted by just enough makeup. Combined with a pale pink dress, she looked stunning. I always want to be mad at her when she withholds information from me, but it is simply impossible to stay angry with this girl. "I love Rose to death, but sometimes she really scares me. Do you know how much trouble we would have all been in if the Alchemists had caught us? It would have been like World War III!"

"But there's no need to worry anymore Liss. They made it out just fine." I told her reassuringly. Now that Lissa wasn't bonded to Rose anymore, there was no way of knowing exactly how she was handling spirit's darkness. It scares me shitless to know that Lissa may be suffering its side effects at any given moment.

"By the way, Rose said that Adrian and Sydney are dating! Isn't that adorable?" said Lissa.

Well shit, I really am the last to hear about everything. If Rose knows, our entire group of friends must know. But Adrian and Sydney? Those two appear to be stark opposites from one another. Them being together is only going to lead to disaster! Well, maybe part of Sydney's re-education sentence was a result of her relationship with Adrian being discovered. But Sydney isn't the only one who stands to lose everything. Not only is Adrian a moroi, but he is a royal moroi from a stuck-up clan of assholes. Adrian's family would literally disown him if his relationship was discovered.

And a human-moroi relationship? It just seems weird. There really isn't any reason for it to be weird, but it still is.

"I will try my best to keep an open mind about them Liss. But, this is all just so weird. Adrian has finally gone off the deep end." I replied eventually.

Lissa slugged me. It didn't really hurt, but the angry glare that she was giving me may as well have pierced holes through me.

"Be nice Christian! You don't get to choose who you fall in love with! I fell in love with you, and had to take shit from the moroi queen for it. But if you were looking at our relationship from an outsiders perspective, then you would have just classified us as an odd couple who had 'gone off the deep end' apparently."

"Calm down Liss, you know I didn't mean it like that," I replied. "You do have to admit that their relationship is bizarre though."

Lissa was still glaring at me. "Who are we to judge their relationship? Christian, you barely even know Sydney!"

Lissa definitely had a point. She really is my better half. Whenever I unintentionally begin acting like an ass, Lissa sets me straight. I love her so much.

"You're right Lissa. I have no right to judge them. I'm sorry for being a jerk." I told her. I could accept Adrian and Sydney. I just needed to get used to the idea.

Lissa smiled. I could tell that she wanted to be angry with me still, but it was in her nature to forgive me. "Don't worry about it Christian. I love you."

I smiled, and gave her a kiss to show her just how much I loved her. Lissa is my life, and I will do anything to make her happy.

Our little kiss had escalated really quickly and I found myself holding her in my arms in our bed about an hour later.

"We should really get going. Rose and the rest of the gang are going to be back in about ten minutes, and I have to meet them outside of the gates to give Sydney her charmed ring." said Lissa.

I groaned and pulled her closer to me, not wanting to get up. I kissed her delicately on the lips, but she giggled and pulled away quickly.

"We can do more of this tonight," said Lissa flirtatiously. Now I'm not going to be able to get the thought of what we are going to do tonight out of my head. Dammit Lissa.

"We better," I replied. "Rose is getting back tonight, and she and Dimitri are undoubtedly going to be going at it like rabbits tonight. Why did we give them a room right next to ours? They are so freaking loud!" I complained.

"Shut up Christian, Rose had to literally live through my sex life when we were bonded." Replied Lissa.

"That doesn't mean that we should have to suffer! Let's have them relocated! Or we can hire someone to sound proof their room!" I exclaimed.

Lissa laughed. "They are beside us so that they can protect us. The rooms are intentionally not sound proof."

I groaned in frustration. Whatever idiot designed this whole place decided to make all of the walls in the head-royal wing of court extremely sheer.

"Come on Christian, we're going to be late." Said Lissa as she got up. I couldn't help but admire her body for a few moments before getting up.

We met up with Dimitri a few minutes later, and the three of us then met up with Rose a couple blocks away from the entrance to the royal court.

"Dimitri!" exclaimed Rose the moment she saw him.

Dimitri's face broke out into a ridiculous grin that was only present when Rose was around.

Everyone got out of their cars as Lissa took the ring over to Sydney.

"Sonya!" exclaimed Lissa suddenly, sounding nearly frantic.

"I know sweetie. I don't know what we can do about it." Replied Sonya.

"What?" asked Rose.

"Adrian, your aura, even I can see the darkness surrounding and penetrating you, and I am terrible at reading auras." Said Lissa. "How much spirit have you been using?"

"I had to use a lot of compulsion during the breakout," replied Adrian casually, as if swimming in a pool of darkness was no big deal. Only Ivashkov would brush such a threat off that easily.

"Adrian, have all of your old symptoms been returning?" Asked Sydney, the worry in her voice being extremely apparent.

"I haven't slept very much, but it's no big deal. I'm fine, honestly." Said Adrian.

"Adrian, I can't believe I'm going to say this," began Lissa. "But I think going on anti-depressants was one of the best decisions you have ever made. I understand exactly how it feels to be cut off from spirit, but I also know what it feels like to be plagued by endless amounts of darkness."

There was silence for a moment.

"Adrian, please say something," said Sydney, who appeared to be nearly on the verge of crying.

"Sydney, we talked about this already." Said Adrian dismissively.

"No, not under these circumstances we haven't!" exclaimed Sydney. "It is so much worse than I thought it was before."

"Let's worry about me later. Right now, we need to inject you with your tattoo breaking ink." Said Adrian.

"Fine, but this isn't over. The moment that I am released from this stupid compulsion serum, we are continuing this conversation." Said Sydney, clearly frustrated.

After slipping on her charmed ring, we all headed back into the gates of the royal court. Sydney, Adrian, and Eddie were all heading off to wherever it is that Sydney's tattoo could be re-broken.

"Poor girl," sighed Sonya as the three of them walked off.

"Yeah, I would imagine that dating Ivashkov would take a hell of a lot of work." I replied.

"I am glad she is here though. With her magic, she will definitely be an asset to my research." said Sonya.

"Excuse me? Her magic?" I questioned, feeling ridiculously confused.

"Oh my god, sorry Christian, I somehow must have forgotten to tell you about it earlier. Apparently humans can use magic also. Eddie and Adrian have both sworn that they have seen Sydney create fireballs out of thin air."

That caught my attention. A human fire user?

"Wait, she can use fire offensively?" I asked, getting excited. "As in, she could use it to incinerate strigoi?"

"She still needs to practice controlling her fireballs, but yes, theoretically she could use her powers to kill strigoi." Replied Sonya.

"I should practice with her. We can figure out what differentiates human and moroi fire powers." I said excitedly.

"I'm pretty sure Sydney already knows how the powers differ. She can explain everything to you when you see her next." Said Sonya.

"And this is all real? This isn't some sick joke that you two are pulling on me right?" I asked, still feeling a little dubious about the existence of human magic.

"100% real," replied Lissa.

I couldn't help but grin. Lissa's reign is going to be one that is never forgotten. This is the time for true change in the moroi world. Not only will moroi begin to learn how to use their powers offensively, but now we can also work with select humans.

**Sydney's POV**

Wow, I feel so much better now. My headache disappeared almost immediately after my tattoo was broken.

After the procedure was done, I jumped out of my chair and threw myself into Adrian's arms.

"I love you," I sighed, as I pulled him towards me for a kiss. Our lips met, and my arms instinctively tightened around him. I felt like I was falling into Adrian, becoming one with him. But all too soon he broke the kiss.

"I have missed you so much," sighed Adrian.

"I have missed you too. I just didn't even realize it up until this point," I said sadly. The compulsion had really messed with my mind.

"It's all better now." Said Adrian, who was still hugging me tightly.

"Umm, you guys, we should probably get going." Said Eddie, who was clearly feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. Adrian and I immediately broke away from each other for his sake.

"Yeah, sorry," I said, feeling a little embarrassed to have let Eddie see what I just did.

"It's fine," he replied. "Rose texted me and said we are all invited to Lissa's for a dinner."

"Oh ok, I guess I should go get ready," I said. People who knew that my disguising charm was in place would still see me as being myself. So I still had to make myself look relatively decent.

"Ok, dinner starts in an hour. Lissa wanted me to ask if you two are planning on sharing a room." He asked uncomfortably.

I looked up at Adrian, and when our eyes met, we both knew the answer.

"Yes," we both said.

"Ok, follow me then. Lissa said you two could stay in the guest room that is in her wing indefinitely."

We followed Eddie, and I was left speechless when I saw our room. Room is the wrong title for this place, considering it has many rooms within it. The front area has a couple of soft couches and chairs, a fireplace, a full dining area, a large screen TV, and work desks.

We headed into the bedroom to drop our belongings, and were greeted with a king sized bed that was clearly fit for royalty. The quilt was an impeccably clean and pure white that looked soft as snow. The pillows were purple and very plush.

But as I headed back to the main room, I found the best feature of our new place. There was a backdoor that led to a beautiful outdoor balcony that had a medium sized hot tub on it.

"We have a hot tub?" I exclaimed.

"Oh yeah," replied Adrian. "I definitely plan on taking you in there for a dip," he replied suggestively.

"I look forward to it." I replied, gazing into his green eyes.

For the next hour, I straightened my hair, and tried to apply makeup as perfectly as I could. I normally go for a natural look, but I always feel inferior with this group of people. Rose and Lissa are just so beautiful.

"You look great babe," commented Adrian when I left the washroom, satisfied with how I looked. "You're going to make it hard for me to contain myself tonight."

I blushed a little, thinking about what Adrian and I would undoubtedly be doing tonight.

He grabbed my hand, and we walked to Lissa and Christian's place. To my surprise, their room was right next door to ours. We really had been given a room fit for royalty.

Rose opened the door slowly, clearly inspecting for any signs of danger, before allowing us in and greeting us.

"Make yourself at home," said Rose as she sat down on one of Lissa's couches and put her feet up on the coffee table.

But before I could do anything, I was jumped on from behind.

"Sydney! Thank god you're ok!" exclaimed a girl who I didn't recognize from behind me. But then I recognized the voice. Jill. She must be using a disguising charm as well. As soon as the thought entered my head, Jill's cover disappeared and she appeared to me as she always did.

"Sydney!" exclaimed another girl from behind me, who must have been Angeline. She grabbed me in and locked me in a bear hug.

"What, no hello for me?" joked Adrian.

Jill and Angeline both rolled their eyes at him.

Someone knocked on the door shortly after, and I turned around to find that Eddie had just arrived. He smiled at me and was about to say something, but then his eyes locked on Jill. The two of them seemed to fall into a trance as they looked at each other. They had begun dating, but they were clearly still shy around each other.

"Hey," said Eddie softly as he approached Jill. Eddie held such a soft and warm smile on his face as he gazed intently at Jill. "You look stunning."

"Thank you," said Jill who still seemed stunned that Eddie returned the feelings that she had for him.

As Jill and Eddie got lost in their own world, I noticed that Angeline was looking fairly upset.

"Hey, don't worry, you will get over Trey soon enough," I told her.

"No I won't. And we had finally decided to go for it and be together. And now we got pulled apart! It's just so unfair." She moped.

I pulled Angeline into a comforting hug. I really felt sorry for her.

"Good, everyone's here." Said Lissa as she clapped her hands together. "Come to the table, dinner is served!" she announced cheerfully.

I took a seat next to Adrian, and was filled with feelings of contentment as I scanned the table. Rose, Dimitri, Eddie, Jill, Angeline, Lissa, Christian, Sonya, and Mikhail were all present, and I was really happy to see everyone.

"Sydney, Rose told me that you and Adrian were both interested in signing up for classes at Lehigh. That would be so amazing if you did! I am always so lonely there."

"I go to Lehigh with you Liss!" exclaimed Rose.

Lissa chuckled. "Yeah, but you have to admit that you get a bit lonely there too. Everyone else out there is socializing at partying while the two of us end up holed up in our dorm room alone."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that Liss, but it's just too dangerous to take you out to college parties," sighed Rose.

"I know," replied Lissa. "Anyways, it would be amazing if you two would join us there!" said Lissa, bringing back her chirpy attitude. "What are you planning on studying?"

"Architecture," I replied automatically. It had always been my dream to go into architecture.

"Awesome," replied Lissa. "What pre-requisites do you have to take to get into that faculty?"

"I need to take a couple of math and physics courses, as well as structural engineering, art, and a designs course."

"Shit, when are you going to get all that done?" asked Rose.

I shrugged. "I will make the time. I am definitely planning on taking a full course load if at all possible. Since it's already the middle of the year though, I can't start taking classes until the end of this semester." I had done a lot of research on Lehigh. I had already decided what I wanted my timetable to look like.

"Wow, I'm only taking a few courses this year." said Lissa. "I just don't have time to do more."

"That's because you are the freaking queen!" exclaimed Adrian.

Lissa just shrugged. She clearly didn't like it when people referred to her as being the queen.

"What classes are you taking?" I asked Lissa.

"Calculus, ecology, and Russian language. Russian was Rose's choice." said Lissa.

Dimitri smiled down at Rose and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Dimitri always looks like the most gentle and loving man when he is around Rose. It is very easy to forget how lethal he actually is.

"And you are taking fine arts I would assume," said Lissa in reference to Adrian.

"Yes," he replied.

Food was set down on the table shortly after that. I happily filled my plate with food, an action that gained me a smile from Adrian. While I still felt uncomfortable in the presence of such flawless moroi, Adrian had helped me acknowledge that gaining a few pounds may be good for me.

To my astonishment, Adrian refused a glass of wine when offered one.

"I have been thinking a lot about it, and eventually forced myself to take an anti-depressant when I got back to my room." said Adrian.

I hugged him tightly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. I was beyond relieved that Adrian had decided to go back on his pills.

"That's great!" exclaimed Rose.

Once the table had been cleared, Rose spoke up. "We haven't had a games night in ages! I think it's time for some fun."

"Oh my god, yes!" exclaimed Lissa.

"I think that's our cue to leave," said Sonya as she stood up. "Sydney, I will call you later about setting up a schedule for when we want to work together. Lissa, thank you so much for the lovely meal."

"You're welcome as always Sonya," replied Lissa.

Sonya and Mikhail left, and Rose stood up again.

"How about a poker night? We haven't done that in ages," said Rose.

Lissa groaned. "Sure, but you and Dimitri always beat everyone."

Rose waggled her eyebrows. "It's not my fault that we're so awesome."

"I'll go get the poker chips." Said Lissa.

"Is Lissa actually bad at poker?" Asked Adrian. "Spirit users are normally unbelievable at poker."

"Shit, I forgot about you reading auras during poker games," muttered Rose.

"There's no backing out now," said Adrian.

"Oh, I don't plan on backing out." Said Rose. "I'm still going to beat you. It's just going to take more effort than I had initially thought it would."

Lissa returned shortly after with the chips and gave each person fifty chips.

"What should the winner get?" Asked Lissa. I guess we aren't playing for real money.

"How about, the winner gets to dare Chrissy to do something embarrassing?" asked Rose.

We all laughed at Christian's reaction.

"What if I win?" asked Christian. This only made Rose and Lissa laugh even harder.

"I don't think we have to worry about that," said Rose.

Christian stuck his tongue out at her.

Lissa dealt out the first hand, and the game began.

This was actually my first time playing poker, although I knew how to play because I remember reading about poker before. This was clearly not an easy group of people to play poker with either. All of the guardians wore their guardian masks, making it impossible to see what any of them were actually thinking about or feeling. And then there was Adrian who swore he wouldn't read anyone's auras to be fair, but I don't know if I really trust him to play a fair game against Rose.

About ten rounds in, I was down to twenty chips. Dimitri had just conned me into calling him for ten chips. I was sure he had been bluffing!

"No!" screeched Angeline after the next round. She had just run out of chips. Christian and Jill appeared to be nearly out of chips as well.

Ten more rounds, and I was out as well. I am normally so good at reading people, and finding ways of solving problems. But the guardian masks were problems I simply hadn't been able to solve.

Rose, Dimitri, Eddie, and Adrian were the only ones who were in still.

"All in." announced Rose, who put on a big show of being completely confident in her hand.

Dimitri studied her for a couple moments before shrugging and calling her bet. Since he had more chips than Rose, he didn't need to go all-in to match her.

"Fold," said Eddie, dropping his hand down.

"I will call Rose, and raise you to all-in." said Adrian, looking towards Dimitri.

Dimitri studied Adrian, and eventually put the rest of his chips in as well.

"Full house!" announced Rose eagerly.

Dimitri muttered something in Russian and slammed his cards on the table.

"Full house as well, mine has a high king. What about yours?" asked Adrian.

"Fuck you Ivashkov! You must have cheated!" exclaimed Rose, slamming her cards onto the table.

"The king and queen of poker have been defeated!" announced Adrian, ignoring Rose's comment about cheating. "Now I just have you to deal with," he said, motioning towards Eddie.

The two guys played a few rounds, and unsurprisingly, Adrian ended up winning.

"Yes, I am the poker master, even without reading auras." announced Adrian smugly. I think he was mainly happy that he beat Rose.

"Fucker," I heard Rose mutter. Dimitri gave her a disapproving look and she fell back, leaning in to him innocently.

"That was fun, but I think we should go. Sydney is probably exhausted." said Adrian.

"Ok, well thanks for coming! I have missed you Adrian." said Lissa. "And it was great getting to know you Sydney." She added.

Adrian grabbed my hand and we walked back to our 'room.' As soon as Adrian closed the door behind us, he pinned me to the wall.

"I have been waiting so long for this," said Adrian as he slowly stroked his fingers along my arms and back. "Waiting in there, with you in your little dress was pure torture."

He grabbed me and started kissing me passionately. I responded eagerly, loving the way his lips felt on mine. Taking control, he lifted me up and took me to the bedroom.

"That was amazing," I panted afterwards. Adrian had been loving and sensitive, yet fierce and eager. It really had been amazing.

"How about we try out that hot tub?" asked Adrian. "Ever gone skinny-dipping?"

"Definitely not," I replied. "The hot tub is outdoors. People will see us."

"Nah, we will keep all of our lights off. Besides, they won't see a thing if we are under water."

Skinny-dipping went against every logical argument I could think of, but I somehow found myself following Adrian outside, stark naked.

The hot tub was just the right temperature and I sighed as I sat down in it.

Adrian scooted close to me and wrapped both of his arms around me.

"I love you Sydney," he said, as he pulled me in for another kiss. Still satisfied from earlier, our kiss lacked the urgency that our last couple had, but was filled with passion and love.

"I love you too Adrian."

We got out of the hot tub after making out for another fifteen minutes, and headed to bed after drying off. Making up for lost time, Adrian and I made love for the rest of the night.

* * *

**How are you all liking it? Please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all the support on this story. I'm sorry this update took a while, I actually had a lot of trouble deciding what I was going to wrtie for it, but I think I have now laid out how I want the story to go so I should be better with updates.**

**Please review, your reviews all mean a lot. 40 reviews for three chapters was pretty awesome, and I would love it if I could get it up to 60 reviews by next chapter (just to make sure you are all still enjoying this story).**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Sydney's POV:**

"So all you have to do is discover how to charm the blood with your magic to make it strigoi repellent," Stated Sonya in a matter of fact way.

As if it were that simple. I have absolutely no clue how to charm blood.

"I have been trying to replicate the spirit that was found in Olive's blood sample, but I simply cannot figure how to do it!" She groaned, clearly frustrated.

"I will see what I can do, but this is beyond my ability," I told her honestly. I don't know how I am supposed to pull something of this magnitude off. I wish I could just go back to my room and lie down with Adrian, maybe look up courses at Lehigh, and just relax.

"You can't give up before you have even begun," Sonya said. "Please look into this at least. I don't need to explain to you the significance of a strigoi vaccine if we could pull this off. Sydney, you will be remembered for ages!"

I would have at least looked into in anyways, but Sonya was doing a good job selling me on this. I figured out how to break an alchemist tattoo just a little while ago, maybe I could figure out how to do this as well.

"I will do my best," I told her, trying to muster up as much confidence as I could.

"That is all I can ask of you," she replied.

I was going to need to talk to someone. Maybe I can contact Mrs. Terwilliger somehow. But now that Adrian is back on his mood stabilizers, he won't be able to use his spirit anymore. Would talking to her in a dream even be sufficient?

"Sonya, can I ask you for a favour?" I asked.

"Of course, what is it?" she asked.

"Can you try to pull me into a spirit dream with my Mrs. Terwilliger? I really need some help."

"Of course," She replied.

For once, I was actually thankful for the vampire's nocturnal schedule since this meant there was a good likelihood that Mrs. Terwillinger was asleep at the moment.

I was soon pulled into a spirit dream, a concept I found very strange since I wasn't even asleep, but yet here I was.

"Mrs. Terwillinger, it's me, Sydney. This is a spirit dream." I told her.

"Oh, Sydney! Thank goodness you are ok. But how are you contacting me like this? I thought the alchemists had you." She said, confusion and relief both mixed in her facial expression.

"Some friends of mine broke me out," I told her.

"Good, I was very upset and worried about you."

I then relayed my problem to Mrs. Terwilliger who then took a moment to process everything.

"Sydney, do you really believe there is a way of making this vaccination?" She asked.

I pondered that for a moment. If there was some force protecting me from strigoi, then theoretically that same force should be able to be applied to the moroi.

"I do," I told her. "I just find this all very confusing. The magic in my blood protects me from strigoi. But moroi also have magic in their blood. And moroi blood is the most desirable to strigoi. What is the difference exactly?"

And I knew the answer exactly when I had asked the question. I had learned that humans pull magic from outside sources while magic is pulled intrinsically from the moroi. But why does that difference make our blood more and less desirable to strigoi?

"Never mind that last bit," I said quickly. "Do you know of any charms or spells that would help me? Or do you have any spell books to recommend?"

"I don't know of any spells that charm blood specifically," she said instantly which disheartened me. "And I do have many spell books, but they aren't books that you can simply pick up at a store," she joked. "It would really be best if you could somehow meet up with the entire coven. I will help you of course with this, it's lousy timing though, because I am still working on discovering a way of reversing the spell that put my sister into a coma. And Alicia is still out there somewhere." She groaned.

"Why don't we track Alicia down?" I asked. "I used the scrying spell on Veronica and that worked. Can we just do the same spell on Alicia?"

"We can try. However, it is possible she is shielding you from her mind. Alicia is extraordinarily powerful. Even if we can track her down, we will have a very hard time subduing her." She said grimly.

"But this time, you will have help from the moroi," said Sonya, stepping in to the conversation. "All we have to do is sneak up on her and have a spirit user compel her into doing what we want, and then your coven can deal with her accordingly," said Sonya.

Wow, she made it sounds so simple. Is it possible that capturing Alicia will be as easy as she made it out to be?

"If you would be willing to help, that would be great," said Mrs. Terwilliger. "I would never be able to repay you for such an act."

"No thanks would be necessary. Sydney saved me when I was captured by the Warriors of Light, so this is the least I can do for her."

"When's the next time that your coven is having a meeting?" I asked.

"Tomorrow evening, or, well tonight technically." She replied.

I groaned, getting a flight at last minute like this could be a challenge. And then there is the issue that travelling under a fake ID would be risky.

"Lissa will let you take one of the court's private jets if you would like," Sonya told me.

"Would she really?" I asked.

"Of course," replied Sonya.

"Then it's settled, I will see you tonight Sydney. The meeting begins at sunset."

"Wait, can I bring Adrian?" I asked.

Mrs. Terwilliger thought for a moment. "If you must, you can bring him. However, it is very abnormal to bring someone into a coven meeting who is a non-magic user. Only bring him if it's absolutely necessary," she told me.

"Alright, thanks for this Mrs. Terwilliger," I told her.

"You're very welcome Sydney," she told me as the spirit dream began to fade.

"I will go speak to Lissa and arrange your flight," Said Sonya.

"Thank you so much for everything," I told her.

I met up with Adrian for lunch a little while later. Walking through court holding hands, we got a lot of stares. Adrian seems like somewhat of a celebrity or something among this crowd, and who he dates is an interesting topic among the royals for some god unknown reason.

"Mr. Ivashkov! You must introduce me to your new lady." Said some woman I had never seen before.

"This is Jade," he replied. Yes, that is my fake name. We decided that it would be stupid for me to go by Sydney, that it would be far too risky.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Jade." She said, with a huge fake smile plastered on her face.

"It's good to meet you too," I replied, doing my best to come off as being sincere. In reality, I already didn't like this woman. She was very fake.

"Mrs. Zeklos, we need to get going, but it was good seeing you," said Adrian, pulling me with him.

"I don't like her," he growled once we were distanced from her. "She is friends with my mother. By the way, my parents want to meet you. I am putting off the meeting for as long as possible."

"Why? Will they not like me?" I asked.

Adrian laughed. "No, as long as you are disguised as a moroi, they will have nothing to dislike. The problem is that you aren't going to like them. My father has always been an ass, and my mother has been a real bitch ever since she ran into some trouble with our legal system. Stress is not good for her." He sighed.

"Meeting them can't be too bad, can it?" I asked.

He choked on a laugh. "It may go very badly. If my father makes even one inappropriate comment, I will probably punch him out, and knowing my father, every comment that he makes will be inappropriate." He growled.

"I'm sorry you don't get along with him," I sighed, pulling him into a hug.

"At least my dad doesn't send me to re-education," he said.

"Yeah, my dad is also an ass," I told him.

"If I ever have a child, I will treat them right," Adrian said, going off on a bit of a tangent. "To me, a child would be like a blessing, how could any man bear to abandon their own child? And how could a father who doesn't abandon their children happily treat them like shit all the time?" I recognized it almost immediately as one of Adrian's spirit induced rambles. The mood stabilizers hadn't fully taken effect yet, and it was clear he was still suffering the effects of the past few days. However, I could also hear truth in his words.

"Do you want to be a father a someday?" I asked him, deciding to be brave and face the subject as opposed to evading it.

"Yeah, I do," he replied, his eyes gazing into mine. I wasn't exactly sure how to respond. Babies aren't out of the question, but I will surely not be ready for one for many more years.

"Don't worry Sage, I don't want to start having babies this second," he told me, trying to joke around.

I smiled, and leaned up to give him a light kiss.

Later on that day, I found my mind dwelling on my family members. Not my family members who were asses, but the ones who had always been there for me. I wonder how my mom is doing, and I wish there was some way of letting her know that I am ok. I also wish there was some way I could testify for her at court, but seeing as I can't show my face anywhere near my father, that is clearly an impossibility. I just hate to think that Zoe might grow up into a clone of my father. I really thought I had been making progress with her, but now that she will be back with my dad, she is probably going to become ten times worse.

But is it really Zoe's fault? Is it even my dad's fault? What if it is the compulsion of the tattoo that is making them each so heartless? Zoe was just like any other child when she was young; she was playful and loving. But then when she joined the alchemists, it was as if everything had changed within her. Maybe I would be just as cold and conniving as they are if I hadn't of had a natural resistance to the compulsion.

There has to be something I can do. Discovering how to break alchemist tattoos was an amazing accomplishment, but it simply wasn't enough. Maybe I can test my theory on someone. If I could somehow break Zoe's, or anyone else's tattoo who is possibly being strongly influenced by the compulsion, I will be able to prove to what extent it is that the tattoo effects an individual. If I find that the effect is great enough, then the next step would become more challenging. But for now, maybe I should be worrying about discovering what exactly the tattoo is compelling the average Alchemist to do.

My mind was reeling, but the stress was also coming down on me. This was all getting to be too much. How the hell can I be expected to do everything that I have committed to doing? Deciding to stay organized, I ended up making a list of what I wanted, no, needed to accomplish in the shortest amount of time possible.

_1. Do some experimenting with the Alchemist tattoo, and discover to what extent it effects the average Alchemist._

_2. Figure out if it is possible to use human magic to aid Sonya in creating a strigoi vaccination._

_3. Help Mrs. Terwilliger discover a way of reversing the spell that put her sister into a coma, and help the moroi and dhampirs hunt down Alicia _

_4. Contact mom, and somehow prevent Zoe from turning into a clone of my father._

_5. Avoid making a fool of myself in front of Adrian's family, and keep up good relations with the moroi and dhampirs. (You never know when good connections may come in handy)._

There were probably more tasks that I still wanted to accomplish, but I decided to keep the list as brief as possible since I had to keep my goals within reason. I mean, am I in over my head planning on going to Lehigh for this upcoming year? I have always wanted to go to university, but what if I simply don't have the time to do it? I have always managed my time very effectively, but there comes a point where it is just impossible to do everything. As well, if I don't put my full effort into mainly the first three tasks that I laid out on my list, I won't be able to live with myself. What if I have the power to actually change the alchemists? More and more, I am believing that they either need to be greatly reformed, or abolished all together. Maybe a new network of humans should be working with the moroi, who don't actually hate the moroi!

'Calm down Sydney,' I scolded myself. If I am ever going to get anywhere with anything, I need to take things one step at a time. Thinking about abolishing the Alchemists is so ridiculously out of reach that it is a complete waste of thought to even consider it at this point.

Deciding to do something actually productive as opposed to stressing over everything, I decided to turn my focus to my magic. I hadn't used it since I had gotten to the royal court since there hadn't really been a need for it.

Maybe I should gather up ingredients for the scrying spell in case Mrs. Terwilliger hasn't already. Wait, why can't Mrs. Terwilliger just perform the spell?

Oh no. My mind was spinning. How could I have been so stupid, offering to perform the spell? You have to be a virgin to do it, that's why Mrs. Terwilliger couldn't do it. Oh god, now I am going to have to explain to my former teacher why it is that I can't perform the spell. I groaned, and mentally slapped myself. This was going to be an awkward night.

Now how am I supposed to track down Alicia? It would be so much easier if I had Alchemist resources at my disposal. With all of their resources, I might actually have a chance of finding her. I mean, she can't possibly be stupid enough to be living somewhere under the name of Alicia, right?

I decided to look up 'Alicia DeGraw' just in case she had been stupid enough to give information about herself somewhere. To my surprise, a Facebook page popped up almost immediately. One look at her profile picture told me that this was definitely the Alicia I had been looking for. Her profile contained all sorts of information about her, including her phone number, and address even.

Deciding to be bold, I picked up one of the court's public phones and tried calling the number that had been provided on Alicia's profile. The phone rang a few times, and it eventually went to a voicemail.

_"Hi, you have reached Alicia, I can't make it to the phone right now, but if you will leave your name and number I will get back to you as soon as possible. Bye!" _It was clearly Alicia's voice. The chirpy 'bye' at the end of the message was definitely her phony acting.

Would it be such a bad idea to simply send whichever moroi and dhampirs were willing to help down to Alicia's?

I decided that I would discuss the possibility with Mrs. Terwilliger when I saw her. Speaking of which, I needed to pack up my belongings immediately so that I could get on the plane.

After packing up all of my important belongings, I rushed to meet Adrian at the plane. In the end, we decided that he wouldn't go to the actual coven meeting since he wasn't exactly welcome, but he decided he may as well keep me company on the flight. Since Adrian is a royal moroi, he of course needed protection. So Eddie was assigned to join Adrian. But since Eddie would be on the flight, Jill decided to keep him company. Since Jill was on the flight, another guardian that I had never met was assigned to the flight as well.

After an uneventful flight, I was escorted to the coven meeting.

After being greeted by the many witches, we went right down to business.

"Mrs. Terwilliger, I screwed up earlier, I can't actually perform the scrying spell," I admitted, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

A flash of understanding crossed her features. "Don't worry about it dear," she replied softly.

I guess she is pretty cool for a teacher. That could have been a lot worse than it was.

I then explained my internet search on Alicia.

"I'm not sure Sydney, I would look into this before going to the house. Do you know when she last updated her profile information?"

I shook my head. She had set some privacy settings, so it was hard to find out too much more than I already had.

"I trust your judgment Sydney. Do what you think is right," Mrs. Terwilliger told me.

After our little conversation, I partook in what was an "average" coven meeting. We worked on a bunch of spells, and all helped each other improve on them. I worked particularly hard on a spell that allowed me to set something on fire without needing to throw a fireball at it. The witches told me that it was a very advanced spell, and were surprised by the progress that I was making with it. I wasn't nearly good enough at the spell to use it in an actual situation though. When the target began moving, I wasn't able to perform the spell well at all.

After the meeting ended, each of the witches brought out a plate of food to eat. I immediately felt bad that I hadn't brought anything.

I suppose eating after the meetings made sense. I was physically drained after using my magic so much, and was very hungry. Deciding to take Adrian's advice, I didn't worry much about how many calories I was consuming. I simply savored the taste of each bite of food that I took, and ate until I was full. Adrian would have definitely been proud.

Adrian and the rest of the gang picked me up when the meeting finished. We got directly back on the flight. Eddie and Jill sat beside each other, and Eddie put his arm around Jill as she closed her eyes and relaxed. Those two are so adorable together.

I wanted to tell Adrian about the meeting as well, but I was so tired after using extensive amounts of magic that I ended up falling asleep as well.

* * *

**Just to give you all an idea of how I want this story to go, there will be several plot lines mixed into this fanfic. Sydney's "To Do" List is only the beginning of what I have planned for this story. I hope you like what all of her goals are, and where I am taking this story.**

**Do you think Sydney going to Lehigh at this point is actually realistic? She is a super-human, but everyone has their limits, and she has a bunch of stuff that needs to get done. And what do you think is going to happen with Alicia? **

**Review if you think it is time to hear Adrian's thoughts in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks so much for all the reviews! You guys are all amazing! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Adrian's POV:**

"Why is it that everyone has met your girlfriend aside from me? Mrs. Zeklos told me that she was very pretty." My mom told me. I groaned, I wanted to put off introducing Sydney to my parents for as long as possible.

"And Jade is such a pretty name," My mom added. I smiled at that part, since Sydney had fake named herself after the colour of my eyes. I don't think she realizes how much doing that meant to me. "I'm so glad that you are dating again after the pain Rose put you through. However, you must admit that Jade is much more suited to you. While she isn't royal, you can still settle down with her and maybe even start a family someday." I had to hold back a laugh. If only my mother knew that "Jade" was actually a human. At least Rose was dhampir, and despite how amazing Sydney and I are together, we will always be looked down upon.

Even thinking about the disapproving and disgusting glances that everyone would give Sydney and I was making me upset. This wasn't a spirit induced sadness, I was diligently taking my pills and Lissa had recently told me that my aura was lightening up quite a bit. This was just a sadness that could not be cured. Everything between Sydney and I is going well right now because she is disguised and we don't have to deal with the temporary repercussions of us being together. But this can't last forever, I mean, we can't make moroi babies together. That's a long ways ahead and everything, assuming we even make it that far in our relationship, but it is still a problem that plagues me.

"There is no rush to meet her," I replied to my mother lightly. "I don't want dad to chase her away."

"Don't speak about your father like that," She scowled. I don't understand my mother at all. I'm pretty sure that she doesn't love my father and that they have been sleeping in separate rooms for years. Not that I could blame her, I mean my dad is an ass, but I still don't get why she puts up with his shit.

"I speak only the truth," I replied lightly, not willing to back my father up in any way.

My mother sighed. "I would like you to bring Jade to eat supper with your father and I tonight." It wasn't request, it was an order.

"Fine, but only if she's free," I grumbled. "But you better be nice to her. If you don't approve of her, you will keep your mouth shut. She means a lot to me."

My mom looked hurt at first, but then smiled at me. "You really love her, don't you? I don't think you even felt the way about Rose that you are feeling about Jade. I am hurt though that you are so worried about introducing me to her. I was nothing but kind to Rose."

"You were kind to her until you bribed a janitor to say something that ended up serving as evidence against her in a murder trial," I muttered.

My mom flushed with anger, she hated when anyone brought this subject up. "It was a mistake, you know that I was only trying to protect you." She said.

"I am an adult now, and don't want you to protect me. So meet my girlfriend if you want, but don't you dare interfere with anything or screw things up for me. For once in my life, I am actually happy."

"I would never do anything to hurt you Adrian," She replied. I groaned. My mother is well meaning most of the time, but she is far too intrusive in my life, and can definitely be a 'royal snob' when she wants to. "I will see you and Jade tonight." My mother said as she walked away.

I pulled out my phone and texted Sydney, asking her to meet up with me for lunch in a bit. Despite being exhausted after our flight back, she had woken up early to work with Sonya this morning. Her work ethic amazes me.

"Hi, what's up?" Sydney asked as he gave me a peck on the lips and sat down. She is definitely one for PDA, so I was quite surprised by her action. She must be just as excited as I am that we can at least be together in public for the time being.

"My mom basically ordered me to bring you to a family dinner tonight," I told her.

"I was going to have to meet them eventually anyways," she replied, trying her best to sound confident, but I could detect a hint of nervousness in her voice. "I'm sure it will be fine." She said, probably trying to reassure herself more than anything.

"Yeah, hopefully it will be," I replied. "How was your morning?" I asked, eager to change the topic.

She shrugged. "I didn't get anywhere."

"I don't believe that," I replied, grabbing her hand. "You always get something done. I'm sure you accomplished something this morning."

"Well, I researched as much as I could into how human and moroi magic differs, and why human magic only protects humans from strigoi. If I can find out why that is the case, maybe I can figure out something relevant to helping out with making a strigoi vaccination for moroi and dhampirs because so far I can only use my magic theoretically to make one for humans."

I nodded, mainly following what she was saying. "And did you find anything new?"

"I didn't find much that I didn't already know," she replied. "I mainly found a repeat of the idea about human magic being extrinsic while moroi magic is intrinsic. Except there are clearly different levels of intrinsic magic since spirit requires the giving away of one's self more than using fire for example does."

I nodded, proud that I understood the meanings of the words 'intrinsic' and 'extrinsic.' I don't even understand how Sydney figures these things out. Seriously, where the hell does she even find research on topics like this?

"It sounds like you are definitely making progress and good work." I told her sincerely. She works so hard, and I don't want her feeling frustrated or angry at any point. This is a tough subject that she is dealing with, and any ounce of progress that she makes on this is monumental. "You don't even seem to understand how amazing your work is," I added.

This made her smile finally, the smile I had been working for. She should really smile more often. It lights up her whole face and makes her just that much more beautiful.

"Thanks Adrian, it means a lot." She replied.

"You have been working yourself so hard lately, we should head down to the spa at this place and pamper you up." I said to Sydney.

"I don't know, I have a meeting scheduled with Queen Dragomir to discuss the possibility of sending out a team to hunt down Alicia." Sydney replied.

"If you call her Queen Dragomir and she hears you, then she will definitely not help you," I joked. "Call her Lissa. Second of all, I can talk to her for you. All you have to do this afternoon is be at the spa by 2:30 and Ambrose will be waiting there to give you the best massage you will of ever had," I replied.

"Are you sure?" Asked Sydney. "I don't want to give you any trouble."

"I am more than happy to Sydney, I can take care of this." I replied.

"Thank you so much, I love you!" She replied, a smile plastered on her face once more.

"I love you too," I sighed.

I met up with Lissa later on.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, clearly confused to see me.

"That wasn't the reaction I was going for," I replied jokingly. "I was expecting you to squeal my name in excitement the moment I walked in."

She smiled. "You know that I'm happy to see you Adrian. There is no need to boost your ego anymore though."

I chuckled before getting down to business. "I actually sent Sydney off to the spa since she has been working so hard lately. I told her I would make plans with you regarding Alicia."

"Oh ok, well, I actually don't really know anything about all of this. I know it will require the help of moroi to pull off, but it seems like a plan that would be best planned by a dhampir, so Dimitri volunteered to organize everything. I trust his judgment; you don't have to ask me for permission for anything else." She replied.

I nodded in response. Despite being happily with Sydney, Dimitri still makes me a little uneasy. I know that he makes Rose happier than I ever could have, but it still annoys me that he hooked up with her, knowing that I was still with her. I have mainly forgiven him, but I would have preferred working on this with a different dhampir. However, I do have to admit that Belikov will probably organize a very strategic attack on the house, planning out every last detail to ensure that no one is hurt unnecessarily.

"So how is everything going with Sydney?" Lissa asked. "I haven't really spoken to you very much since you left for Palm Springs."

"I'm really happy with her. Don't repeat this to anyone, because I will deny it if you do, but I am so whipped. I'm so in love with her, I would do any little thing for her."

Lissa awed in response and smiled. "I'm so happy for you Adrian. You are such a good person, and that is why I always rooted for you and Rose before I knew about Dimitri. I'm just so happy that you are finally getting everything that you deserve."

"Thanks," I replied to her. She really is one of the nicest people I have ever met.

"How is being queen?" I asked smugly.

She groaned. "It's such a pain most of the time. But it is all worth it when I get good responses from the moroi. But then it can sometimes all be so hard. My bills are supported by the vast majority of moroi and dhampirs, but the ones who oppose them tend to be powerful royals who are stuck in the olden ways."

I wished I could take a look at Lissa's aura to see how she was handling spirit's darkness, but my mood stabilizers prevented me from doing so.

"How is the darkness?" I asked cautiously.

Lissa paled, and I immediately felt bad. "It's hard. Rose is amazing and does her best to protect me from everything, but it's sometimes hard for her to protect me from myself. Sonya makes me healing charms on occasion which makes me feel better, but also guilty since it means the darkness will only end up in her aura." She sighed.

"I understand exactly how hard it is to cut yourself off from the magic, but if it ever gets too overwhelming for you, you should really see a therapist and go on meds. I really believe that they are worth it in the end."

"I just wish there was a way to get a rid of all the darkness."

Something in my mind clicked at that moment. It is possible for spirit to cure the darkness out of one's aura. What if other magic could do the same? But no, the spirit users must have thought of that already. But they haven't had much time to explore the power of human magic yet. Human magic is extrinsic, so that means it shouldn't harm the human in the process of using the magic, well, aside from tiring them of course. But Sydney is so damn busy already, can I really burden her with this? If I even put the idea in her head that human magic could possibly be used to help deal with spirit's side effects, she will not be able to feel satisfied until she has determined whether the possibility could be a reality.

But this could also be something big. The problem is that everything could be big, but may not be. We don't know exactly what human magic can do, and I don't want Sydney to be devastated if she fails to accomplish one of her goals. What if making a strigoi vaccination for all using human magic is an impossibility?

No, I couldn't let my mind go there. It is at least worth looking into as a possibility. I guess I just don't want Sydney to end up hurt at the end of all of this.

I chatted with Lissa for a bit longer before heading back to my room to get ready for supper. I planned on dressing very casually which would definitely piss of my parents. I simply didn't want to give the impression that I was trying to impress them.

I walked over to Sydney's room later to walk her over to my parent's place. It is hard to tell what she would look like through my parent's eyes since I can't see the appearance charm that is in place, but she looked beautiful to me. The dress that she was wearing look formal and elegant, a combination that my mother would surely appreciate.

"Hi beautiful," I smiled. "Ready for hell?"

"As ready as I will ever be." She replied.

* * *

**How do you think the dinner is going to go? And I tried to add just a little bit of Sydrian fluff to lighten up the story a bit. There will be more fluff to come if you would like!**

**Also, what do you all think human magic is going to be capable of? Will it be enough to do everything that Sydney and Adrian want to do with it, or will it have some limitations?**

**Please review your thoughts on the chapter!**


End file.
